Dispatches from the 10th Crusade

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The AP Gets a Thrill Going Up Its Leg

"The amazement was on their faces. Hundreds waited for Barack Obama on that evening in South Carolina, 15 weeks ago, to claim victory — a surprising victory, surprisingly large.

"And amazing it was. It made it possible for him to stand today on the verge of being the first black person ever nominated for president by a major party.

"One could guess the thoughts of the blacks and whites in that crowd: Can you believe that our state — South Carolina, first to secede and first to open fire in the Civil War — is now catapulting a black man to the front of the presidential contest in a year that bodes well for Democrats?

"'Race doesn't matter,' some began to chant. 'Race doesn't matter!'...

"Now, the entire nation and countless foreigners are absorbing a moment that had seemed decades away, if possible at all. Smart strategists and rank-and-file voters ponder how Obama rose so far so fast, and theories abound. Historians will sort it out someday, but Obama's blend of oratory, biography, optimism and cool confidence come to mind most immediately...

"Maybe the toughest question is this: Is Obama, with his incandescent smile and silky oratory, a once-in-a-century phenomenon who will blast open doors only to see them quickly close on less extraordinary blacks? Or is he the lucky and well-timed beneficiary of racial dynamics that have changed faster than most people realized, a trend that presumably will soon yield more black governors, senators, mayors and council members? Presidential campaigns have destroyed many bright and capable politicians. But there's ample evidence that Obama is something special, a man who makes difficult tasks look easy, who seems to touch millions of diverse people with a message of hope..."

And on and on the puffery goes:

"'He just really electrifies you when you are listening to him, said Lena Bradley, 78, a beauty salon owner in Washington. 'He has something that's leading him.' ...

"Some veteran politicians also see 'something that's leading' Obama, whether they can explain it or not.

"Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill...recalls pulling Obama into a vacant meeting room in Chicago's Union League Club, where both had spoken on a Friday afternoon in November 2006. He felt it was time for his young colleague to decide whether to run for the White House.

"'There are moments in life when you can pick the time,' Durbin said he told Obama. 'But when it comes to running for president, the time can pick you. You've been picked. This is your moment.'

"A short time later, Obama launched his candidacy."

Let me remind you: this is presented not as "opinion," or even "analysis," but as a straight "news" story. From the AP.

I can remember the day that JFK was shot. But I've never seen anything like this.

My favorite detail here is that chant: "race doesn't matter!" I mean, does irony ever get more ironic than that? They might more honestly have chanted "race is all that matters!"

That's more or less what Auster said. But seriously, there has to be a reason all those people are looking in that one direction at something behind him. I can't help wondering if the picture has been doctored. Easy enough, these days.

Attn: Charles Babington Sunday's (May 11/08) Virginia's Richmond Times Dispatch Front Page featured some of your "Obama's rise from political obscurity to verge of history" report.
Initially, I thought the RTD had rewritten your version. Upon checking, I saw the error was yours.
BARRACK OBAMA WILL NOT BE OUR FIRST BLACK PRESIDENT if elected this fall. I think he will be our first multi-cultural President. However; to be absolutely correct, you'd have to check the DNA of our preceding Presidents.

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